Letter to Senate on sign-on letter to Secretary Hagel

May 16, 2013

Dear Senator:

On behalf of the 3 million educators and education support professionals of the National Education Association (NEA), we urge you to sign on to Senator Warner’s letter to Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel. Senator Warner’s letter calls for teachers and education support professionals at Department of Defense schools to be exempt from furloughs stemming from the across the board cuts brought on by sequestration.

Two days ago, the Secretary issued a directive stating that Educators in Department of Defense run schools face up to 5 furlough days while education support professionals face 11 days. This will result in military dependents losing school days and vital services while many of their parents are fighting overseas. Due to the timing of this decision these furloughs will be sandwiched into the first month of school next year, impacting students’ access to high quality education.

We encourage you to join NEA and Senator Warner in telling Secretary Hagel to exercise the discretion granted to him by Congress, or seek out additional and appropriate flexibility, to make sure the DoD sequester cuts do not penalize the children of our military men and women. When we send our men and women into harm’s way, our responsibility is to provide their dependents with a quality of life that reflects the high standards and pride in the nation they defend.

Again, please join millions of educators across this country in supporting the families who rely on DODEA schools. Please contact Mark Brunner (mark_brunner@warner.senate.gov) or Marvin Figueroa (marvin_figueroa@warner.senate.gov) for additional information or to sign-on.

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